Witness: “Cop murdered my friend”
A resident of Caye Caulker is dead tonight, and as a result police community relations, never too healthy in the best of times, are in need of life support. Reports from La Isla Carinosa are that on Saturday evening, a uniformed officer on duty at the village station, shot and killed a resident. The cop says it was self-defence…but in the interview that follows, conducted this afternoon, one eyewitness tells News 5’s Jacqueline Woods that he watched helplessly, as the police officer murdered his friend.
Michael Henry, Witness
“No threatening words. My friend just ask him when I wah get bail…that dah the last thing I hear, when he wah get bail, so we could bail the man let we get an understanding of what the happen. And the right there you hear the first shot. I seh, can’t, you dig. From me shock, I left right there standing up and I just witnessed the rest.”
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Twenty-one year old Michael Henry of Belize City was one of two persons Caye Caulker police detained early Saturday morning and charged with the theft of a bicycle and obstruction of justice following an incident on Friday night on the island. According to Henry, he had requested to see his friend forty-three year old Ruben Alarcon, who would make bail for him and that Alarcon, along with another friend made frequent trips to the police station to see if they could get him released.
But the two men were repeatedly told that the police were not ready and in fact the officer who would be dealing with the issue had not yet come on duty. It was not until four Saturday evening that the officer, identified as Police Constable 861 Arzu, reported to work. According to Henry, P.C. Arzu was along with several officers inside the station when Alarcon and another friend walked inside the building. According to Henry, Alarcon first approached the Officer in Charge of Caye Caulker Police Station, Sgt. Gilbert Pitts.
Michael Henry
“So when they come in, he said, “Sarge, yuh ready for me yet, you done charge the man?” Sarge said, “no, the man just come on duty, the man will deal with it now.” So the man ask ah, “boss, you will charge the man because I want to give the man a little bail?” He no answer, he no say nothing, he noh respond. So my bally ask him, “Sarge, we really want to get the understanding of this because we want to bail our boy because he in yah long time, he have some friends weh done reached yah already.” So the Sarge tell ah, “talk to that man there, the man you deal with.” So he tell ah, “Sarge how I will talk to somebody weh noh want talk nor say anything like he retarded.”
Henry says he does not know if P.C. Arzu got offended by the comment but, contrary to what police are reporting, he did not hear Alarcon nor his friends used any threatening words towards any officer, nor were the two men armed with an empty Guinness bottle and machete. Instead, Henry says what happened next was shocking as he witnessed P.C. Arzu take out his point thirty-eight revolver and shoot Alarcon several times.
Michael Henry
“I witnessed everything, everything and alright, if you come to try and tek me out…they seh they come demands right to tek me out, lot of officers deh deh, if they seh he got a machete inna his hands, they would have been way behind the desk or di try come release me out. The man deh far and he the talk with his two hands down with nothing, you understand. And the man just fired the first shot and the first shot suppose to hit ah yah. My friend and I watched this…I watch this, this dah weh shock me, because I watched this. He shot ah the first time and then when he shot ah the first time, my friend noh move you dig, he watch him in his face still yet. And he shot him again, he still the watch ah, because my friend noh drop cause like he is strong, dig. So I watch him aim and point the gun at his face and shot him in his face.”
“My friend dropped to the ground, he walked out and he gone behind there and he just empty so much more and he gone through the back door. I said, “damn!” My friend, who was in the cell with me, cried, he cried all night till he gone sleep. I said, “Bombo!” After that, the whole cell kept quiet and you see people just start gathering around and tell them that is wrong because the first time he shot the man he nevah have to shot ah again.”
Police say they are investigating to determine whether or not the shooting was justifiable. According to police press officer, G. Michael Reid, initial reports suggest that there were other circumstances that may have led to the shooting including a report that Alarcon and his friend were armed with a Guinness bottle and machete.
G. Michael Reid, Police Press Officer
“The person in question, the deceased and another person, went to the police station insisting that these two persons be released. And in fact, there are independent witnesses who I spoke to, who told me–and I am hoping that they will go on record–that in fact the people were saying that we going there and we will make sure they release these people. So it wasn’t a matter of them going there and wanting to sign a bail.”
Today, the Alarcon family gathered at the Belize City morgue to get the results of a post mortem examination. Lunette Alarcon Ortega says her brother, who does not have a police record, is not a violent person and all they want are answers to some very troubling questions. Alarcon says the family was not allowed to view her brother’s entire body but she did observe what appeared to be a bullet wound behind his right ear.
Lunette Alarcon Ortega, Ruben’s Sister
“He is not that kind of violent person. And according to what he heard, everybody on the island, they just like him; he is a fun person. So I don’t know the reason why this happen.”
Police report that P.C. Arzu fired two shots. Henry claims the officer fired at least six bullets, and Reid says from talking to people on the island, he heard that at least three to four shots were fired. According to Reid, the police are doing everything possible to conduct a fair investigation.
G. Michael Reid
“What type of character was involved here the part of both the police officer and the person who was shot. From what I understand, and depending on who you spoke to, some people believe the police officer was a no nonsense officer that did his duty. Some felt that he went a bit too far at times.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Someone are describing him as a trigger happy cop?”
G. Michael Reid
“Well, I don’t know about trigger happy, because there are no reported incidents of him grabbing his gun and shooting at random as such, or at any other occasion. I personally believe that he was a young officer and maybe the situation warranted a more senior officer dealing with it and he might have cracked under the pressure of the whole situation.”
But from what Henry says he witnessed, it was nothing but wilful and cold bloody murder.
Michael Henry
“You get over a person for being a police officer…get over a person and finish empty the gun. Come on! That show you weh kind a rights we got. We noh have no rights fi you come and ask your friend, ask the officer to just bail your friend.”
The police have dispatched a team from Internal Affairs and the Criminal Investigation Branch to the island. Jacqueline Woods reporting for News 5.
Henry says he has not yet given a statement to the police. He claims that following the incident, while he was still detained, the investigators asked him about the incident. According to Henry, they promised to come back and talk to him in greater detail, but never did. Instead, he was brought into Belize City and appeared in court this morning to answer for the charges of theft and obstruction of justice. According to Reid, the police investigation of the death has been completed and the file sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
